I Walk Along a Slender Line
by Wulf-Gurl
Summary: Slenderman. Also to known as Der Ritter, Der Großmann, Him, The Operator, and many other names. He is the thing you hear of in legends and stories; the manifestation of fear itself. Simple, yet terrifying. Do I believe in him? Yes. Do I fear him? No. I am Madelyn Frueuff, and I am hunting the Slenderman. (( A SORT OF SEQUEL TO THE HUNTED ))
1. Chapter 1

**AN:: Hello hello hello, my pretties. I am back~! Yes, yes, you all missed me so, hmm~? ;3 But here I am; with a sort of sequel to _The Hunted_~! Now, I want to go ahead and say this now, to keep from huge disappointments and whatnot;**

**This story is a semi-sequel. Sierra's story plays its part in this, but it isn't huge or anything. I cannot promise this story will be better or worse than the Hunted. I cannot say that you will like it, because some of you may not. All I know is that it will still have Good 'ole Slenderman, gore, and whatnot~ If you don't like this or think it's a lot worse than _The Hunted_, then okay; don't complain about it the whole story, though~  
**

**This story follows a somewhat different path, though...D  
**

**So kick back, relax and enjoy~! (or don't X33)  
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**Don't forget to R&R~! 3  
**

"Are we almost there?"

"Yes, calm down please."

"But we've been driving for _hours_!"

My mother sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose and muttering to herself before looking at me, the camera around her neck bumping the steering wheel. "I know, Madelyn, but please, be patient." She said tiredly, her voice thick with a French accent. I huffed and sat back uncomfortably, fiddling with my own smaller camera and flicking back through the pictures. I guess I wasn't really being fair to my mother; it wasn't her fault that the plane from Europe was delayed due to bad weather, or that the traffic here was horrible…

"What's the town name again?" I asked, cocking my head toward her. My mother ran a flustered hand through her dark red hair, peering at our GPS system for a moment before looking down at the notepad in her lap.

"Uhh…Huntsville…Montana?" She said, her eyebrows arching as she looked from the notepad up to the GPS. "I thought we were going to the Wolf Point first…?"

"We are." I said, picking at my fingernails idly. "We're going there to speak with the mayor about lodging and finances. Huntsville has been closed off for residence since that thing two years ago."

"Right." She replied, the worry leaving her clear blue gaze. I rolled my eyes and looked back down at my camera, flicking through the pictures again. I stopped and examined one of the pictures; my favorite, to be exact. It was a picture of me and my two closest friends when we went to the Eiffel Tower; my friend Joshua, his long blond hair obscuring half of his face, his dark green eyes bright; Elizabeth, her short choppy hairstyle as odd and unique as ever, dark eyes defiant. And then there was me; my long platinum blond hair pulled into a neat braid, one eyes sparkling a purplish-blue, the other bright green. Heterochromia at it's finest.

The car jerked to a stop and I looked up abruptly, surprised. "Are we here already?" I asked, looking at my mother. She smiled and nodded, straightening her hair.

"Yep, and it only took us three hours to find."

"Well it's a small…ish town, right?" She just shrugged, unbuckling and stepping out of the car.

"Come one, I'm sure the mayor is waiting for us." She quipped, hurrying off. I rolled my eyes and trotted after her, catching up with her in a moment. She was a relatively large woman, though that didn't hamper her 'style', as she says. Me, on the other hand, I'm a twig; whether it's a high metabolism, or just…lack of fat or something, I never really gained any weight. (I was also the fastest runner on the track team at my school in Europe.)

The Mayor's office wasn't hard to find, considering there was a huge sign reading "Mayor's Office" in front of the building. The man was waiting on the front steps, shaking my mother's hand fervently before ushering her inside. I decided against going in and instead explored around a little, examining the small houses before looking out towards the forest a few miles away. I narrowed my eyes, lifting my camera and taking a quick picture of the distant trees. _That's it,_ I thought, looking down at the picture before it disappeared. _That's where it all happened…_

"Excuse me, miss?" I turned around to see a girl about my age standing behind me, blinking slowly. "Are you uhh…new to town?"

"In a way, yes." I said slowly, slipping my camera into my pocket. She looked a little surprised before smiling slightly.

"Excuse me for asking, but are you possibly from Europe?"

"Because of my accent?" I really didn't consider myself to have much of an accent (considering how, compared to my mother's, it was much lighter and softer), but I guess others would tend to notice. I nodded, rocking back on my heels. "Northern France, actually."

"Really?" I nodded as the girl's eyes lit up and she leaned forward a little.

"Have you been to the Eiffel Tower?"

"Oh yes, many times."

"All the way to the top?"

"Of course." The girl's eyes widened a little, and I just shrugged. "It's really cool from the top…especially when scaring people."

"How so?"

"Pretending to slip and fall." I smirked at the girl's look of horror, leaning against the Mayor's sign.

"Are you scared of heights?" She asked breathlessly, as if she'd been there, watching me 'fall'. I shook my head.

"No. I'm not really scared of anything." And it was true; from a small child I'd never really had a fear of anything. The dark was nothing; fire was a constant thing I'd get mixed up with; running around in the street as cars screeched to a halt to avoid hitting me; talking to strangers constantly. Yep; I was born with Urbach-Wiethe disease. I was scared of nothing; which made my mother's job of raising me a little harder, but her actual job all the easier.

"So, what are you doing here? Moving here, just visiting, or…?" The girl asked, trying to shake off the images in her head.

"My mother and I are here on business."

"What kind of business?"

"We're paranormal photographers." The girl looked confused for a few minutes, cocking her head to the side a little.

"Why are you here, then?"

"We're going to take photos of the nearby forest."

"…and…?"

"Because of all the deaths a few years ago?" I said, cocking an eyebrow. "You know, the mysterious, unexplainable deaths that happened here and in a forest a ways away?"

Realization flickered through her pale blue eyes and the color visibly drained from her face. She took a small step back, fumbling for words, before she finally managed to choke out, "Y-you're serious…?"

"Yep."

"B…you'd be better off just leaving, then." She said quickly, taking another step back.

"Why is that?"

"B-because…that…that thing that's here…was there…it's…"

"Horrible? Terrifying?" I asked, pulling my camera out again and idly flicking through old pictures again.

"W-worse…" She whimpered, edging backwards, as if my very presence would make this whatever thing appear before her eyes.

"Let me ask, do you know what this thing actually is?" I asked, turning to stare at her intently. I could visibly see her shaking now as she nodded, and I rolled my eyes. "So you're a believer, too?" She nodded again before turning.

"I-I gotta go…help my mom with dinner…" she muttered, hurrying away. I smiled and turned my back on her, staring out at the trees. Coupled with my 'disease' (blessing, if you ask me), I have been through a lot of paranormal instances; ghosts, demons, supposed aliens…I've seen the whole lot. But this time, I guess, would be special. Perhaps because the idea was so enthralling that it instilled fear into everyone's hearts, even if they think it isn't even real. The mere thought or mention of his name makes people shake like a leaf, and look over their shoulders to make sure he isn't there. The whole idea was so enticing to me…so enchanting. So dangerous. So why would I not be interested? The prospect of coming face to face with fear itself was too good to be true…and the main reason why we'd come to this little forest-enclosed town. To the town where all the deaths had happened, where all the fear lay, where _He_ himself had appeared…

We were here to find the Slenderman.

**AN:: Another note;**

**There was no mention of town or state in _The_ Hunted because I couldn't think of any...so I made up a town, and put a small one nearby (Wolf Point is an actual town in Montana ^^) So...yeap. Thank you and have a good evening~ C:  
**


	2. Chapter 2

Now I, being who I am, wasn't scared of this Slenderman one bit, real or not. I read the Something Awful Forum's posts about him; from the very first mention of him, to the very end. I read every one. I looked at every wiki page, looked at every picture, played every game. The idea didn't scare me; instead, intrigued me. It was interesting; a man-like creature who took children and killed them. Simple enough. I watched all of the Slenderman videos on Youtube, from Marble Hornets to Tribe Twelve, to even Pewdiepie playing the Slender games. (He's easily scared, isn't he?) But perhaps the most…moving video collection, is simply called Slender. A collection of videos from the fateful night that six teens were found dead inside Deadwood forest, filmed by the six themselves as they hunted for the mysterious Slenderman. And oh, they found him.

At least, that's what some believe.

The video collection, somehow making its way to Youtube just hours after the kids' bodies were recovered, is one of the most highly talked about series' around. Many think it's not real, and that someone made it up for a film class; but how does that explain them being found dead just hours before the release? No answer there, pal. Others believe it's a freak coincidence; the first class I'm-too-scared-to-accept-the-truth answer. And then there's the Believers; a self-proclaimed fan-base like group of people who believe in Slenderman, and they _know_ that it's real.

Me? I'm not going to accept it until I have proof. And that's just what we've come here for.

Standing outside, leaning against the Mayor's sign, I stood staring at the trees, tapping my foot impatiently. I wouldn't mind getting myself lost in those trees with only my camera…

"Madelyn, come here please? The mayor would like to meet you." I glanced up to see my mother standing in the doorway of the building. I hesitated for a long moment, casting a wistful glance towards the trees, before trotting towards her and following her inside. The building was a lot bigger on the inside than I thought, but I paid no attention to the décor or furnishings. Instead, I walked straight up to the man sitting at his desk, a forced smile on his face, and stuck my hand out towards him.

"Good evening." I said lightly, nodding as he took my hand and shook it. The mayor smiled, looking up at my mother.

"She's got some manners." He commented as I took a step back. I didn't listen to my mother's reply; instead I turned towards the window and stared out at the trees again.

"…Very limited, if you ask me." I glanced back at my mother as her voice rose, shrugging a little. What can I say? I have a short attention span. (In reality, I just don't like talking to certain people…) She threw a glare at me before turning back to the mayor and continuing about lodging. I strode towards the window, staring out it. It had a very lovely view of the forest, and the road coming into town…but that was about it. What was it for? Watching for Slendy? I smirked a little, shaking my head and pulling my camera up, snapping a few pictures.

"Madelyn! Save it for when we're actually out there!" My mother scolded. I rolled my eyes. If only she knew of the dozens of pointless photos I have on here…she'd probably have a heart attack. (My mother has this weird thing with me wasting video and memory space on my camera, or wasting the battery, even though I've got seventeen unused, still packaged memory cards that I could just as well use, plus a 24 pack of triple A batteries with me.)

"Puis-je retourner à l'extérieur, s'il vous plaît? _(Can I go back outside, please?)_" I asked, turning to face her. She gave me a long, hard look before sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose again, her foot tapping.

"Yes, you may." She said tiredly. I smiled a little, waving to the mayor before heading back outside. Even though my mother hated it, I talk to her in French whenever I'm around people I don't like…to be more specific, authority figures. (My mother is one thing, since she has authority over me and me only; but people who think/supposedly have authority over many people is another matter…) Why? Because they have no business knowing what I'm saying. Why do I dislike authority figures? I don't know; perhaps you could say I get a weird vibe from them. (And I can't stress this enough, I'm _NOT_ scared of them. I don't know what fear even feels like.) I just don't like some people. Mostly because they feel like they're in charge, or that they need to be in charge.

I idly stood with my back facing the trees, sitting on the front steps of the building, trying to keep my gaze away from the trees. I was way too tempted to run towards them right now to be out here, but I'd rather be there than here…Pulling out my phone, I quickly turned it on and headed to Youtube. All of the Slender videos were in my favorites, and I turned on the first episode, plugging my earbuds in so I could hear better.

The first minute or so was a small introduction, talking about how the events in this video may be disturbing, blah blah blah, things I really never read. A small name flickered across the bottom of the screen, reading 'Marcus', and a picture flickered on; it was a forest at night, the picture clearly showing a leaf-strewn ground. "Come on, you guys are taking forever!" A faint voice filtered from somewhere nearby, and the camera lifted, showing the forest; some of the others in the group were ahead of Marcus and started forward nervously, one of the boys glancing back at his camera nervously, before Marcus started to follow too.

The first fifteen or so minutes of the video are of them walking around, getting scared by birds flying out of bushes and such. This part was sped up about four times and only took about two minutes to get through, so I skipped over it, since it was pointless. The video loaded for half a second before playing again; still just a bleak, dark forest, the near-silence broken only by their footsteps…and the sudden beeping of a watch, making one of the girls swear loudly. Marcus turned his camera to the two girls, one with long black hair, the other with ruler straight dirty-blonde hair and glasses. "Who's watch was that?" The black haired girl asked angrily, followed by the sheepish reply from the second girl.

"Mine. I forgot I still had the alarm on…but on another note, it's midnight now." A small, sharp intake of breath is heard from the first girl, and Marcus' camera is turned to her for a moment before turning back, and they continued on for another….four or five minutes. Marcus' camera panned around for a moment before he stopped, and shone his light on something in the distance.

"I can see something over there." Marcus said, a nervous hint in his voice, waving the flashlight in the direction he was looking. They hesitated before walking towards it, Marcus being the first to see it, and he stopped. In front of them was a crumbling wall, with bloody letters written on it, reading –

A hand on my shoulder made me look up, pulling an earbud out of my ear. "We're leaving, Madelyn." My mother said, smiling a little. I glanced back at the paused video, showcasing the bloody 'Happy Birthday Sierra' written on the wall, before clicking a button and putting my phone in my pocket, following my mother to the car.

"Where are we staying?" I asked as she started the engine.

"Wolf Point Inn."

"Creative name." She just shrugged, taking a left and concentrating on the road. I huffed a little, slumping down and turning to stare out at the trees that whizzed by.

I started to doze off a little as we went, my head slowly lowering before thumping against the window. I jerked my head back up, blinking and rubbing my eyes…and when I looked back up at the trees, my heart sped with excitement; for the slightest moment, I thought I saw a flash of a red tie.

**AN: Okay yeah kinda short boring chapter sorry. (at least I updated...^^; ) I was short on ideas, since I can't really get into anything yet (Well I can, but I don't wanna~ ;3 ) **

**I'll try to update again soon, but I can't guarantee anything... **

**Watch for updates, and don't forget to R&R~!  
**

**P.S. - If you haven't read the prequel to this, _The Hunted_, then some of this may not make sense to you. I recommend reading that story first.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:: Hello my pet- I mean, friends~! I am here to bring you a long awaited update, yes yes yes~!**

***ducks to avoid barrage of bricks*  
**

**Okay, so...MAAAYBE it's been a while since I've updated...but I've had some serious writers block these past few...however long since my last update! I didn't want to rush into the story...but I wanted to get it started from the get-go. So I had to sit and plan and try to think of something to keep it going just a tad longer. **

**Hopefully this will suffice...**

**Don't forget to R&R~! 3**

"You didn't have to be so rude earlier, Madelyn."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"To the mayor?"

I leaned back in my seat, tapping my chin thoughtfully with a loud "Hmm" as I thought. "Doesn't ring a bell." I finally stated, shrugging. My mother gave me a long glare, and I rolled my eyes with a huff. "Okay, so maybe I could've been a little more…talkative. And polite, or whatever. But I still stand by that he has no right to hear what isn't for his ears."

"You were asking to go outside, not if you could have a tampon."

"Still." With a resigned sigh my mother turned her back to me, again muttering to herself, and I settled back into the lazyboy.

"Sometimes I just don't understand you Madelyn." She said after a few long moments, looking tired rather than angry. "Why exactly do you act like this? Do you even know why?"

"Yes, I do." I said matter-of-factly with a reassuring nod. "I don't like authority figures."

"Why?"

"Because they think they have control over everyone and everything."

"If this is because of your father -"

"This is not because of Aaron." I spat back, sitting up suddenly. "He was just an arrogant ass who thought he could tell me what to do."

"I didn't mean anything a -" My mother started, but before she could finish I stormed past, slamming the door open and stomping down the hallway, not stopping until I'd reached the back doors and slammed out of those as well.

I guess I should say that my…"father", as my mother calls him, is a very touchy subject with me. Mostly due to the fact that he was a narcissistic control freak, who beat my mother and me whenever he didn't get what he wanted. Aaron actually ended up pulling a knife on her, but the cops showed up shortly afterwards (thanks to a family friend) and subdued him. I actually think he might've been shot or something…I dunno.

Was that the basis to my hate for authority figures? Most likely. But I still hated talking about him and wanted no mention of him ever again. Only problem is, my mother actually did love him…you know the whole 'Love is blind' thing? Basically, that describes my mother…she was so in love with him that she didn't want to leave him, and actually thought that they could fix their marriage.

Thank god they didn't.

I stopped, realizing that I'd walked a little ways out into the field behind the hotel, and looked behind me curiously. She hadn't come out after me yet…so I guess that was good. Maybe. Or she was really pissed off and wanted to cool down herself. I dunno, she seemed bipolar sometimes…or maybe that was just me.

With a huff I sat myself down, staring at the tree line that extended on the horizon. Perhaps the tension would settle if we got to work as soon as possible…we seemed to get along nicely whenever we were working. (I feel like I've said that before…hmm.) I lay back on the grass, folding my arms behind my head and staring up at the sky. It sure as hell was an odd job for mother-daughter bonding. What with taking pictures of ghosts and supposed demons, being in rooms with possessed people, going to alien landing sights…not really an ideal job for that, but whatever. We weren't exactly normal people.

…

Okay, _I _am not a normal person.

Jeez, you guys are so judgmental.

A small breeze blew through the field, bringing with it a cold sting, and I shuddered, shaking my head a little. It's the middle of summer, yet it's cold. We aren't in Kansas…well, we're a state away, but I'd still think that it'd be warm in the summertime. Sitting up, I rubbed my hands on my arms, looking around. There was a sudden stillness in the air that caught my attention; just a moment ago I could hear crickets chirping something moving around in the grass…but now everything was silent.

Standing up, I planted my hands on my hips and looked around, a mixture of anger and excitement stirring in my stomach. Why hadn't I thought to bring my camera with me…if I leave now, it'll probably pass before I even get back! I wandered closer to the trees, crossing my arms across my chest now. There was something in there, moving around…at first I thought it was a person, but there was something different about it. It was…taller. _The Slenderman, then?_ I thought, biting back a small squeal of excitement.

I walked even closer to the trees, eyes bright with curiosity, and leaned closer, shielding my eyes from the moonlight in hopes of getting a better view. Whatever it was, it was either really bad at hiding, or it wasn't being shy…and it was slowly coming closer. On a whim I ducked down into the tall grass, watching intently. Just a few more steps…come into the moonlight…

"Madelyn!" I whipped around to see my mother standing a few feet away, reaching a hand out towards me. She recoiled a little, raising an eyebrow at me before smiling a little, offering her hand to me. "I was going to…order out for dinner." She said after a moment, watching me curiously. I stared at her for a long moment, my mind going blank, before turning around excitedly, only to see that the mysterious figure…was really just some guy wandering around the trees. The distant light of a flashlight shone in our direction for a moment before turning back and giving a small bush the spotlight.

Even from such a distance I could still hear his voice, though. And it sounded like he was calling out to…a dog, maybe? With a disappointed sigh I turned back, following my mother as she led me towards the hotel again and inside. "So, I was thinking about getting pizza…do you think they would deliver this late?" She asked, but I didn't answer. I gave a last look over my shoulder, trying to see something, _anything_, instead only seeing darkness.

"I think Papa Johns might deliver." I finally answered, shaking my head and closing the back door behind me.

.

.

"Skipper! Come here, boy!" Heaving a sigh the man turned around, shining the pitifully small light around again. "Damn dog…" He muttered, rounding a bend and looking around worriedly. He gave a small whistle, whipping around as a branch overhead creaked before continuing on, his breath quickening with every step he took. _If I don't find that stupid dog soon I'm just going to leave him…_he decided, his gaze flicking around.

A twig snapped somewhere to his right and he turned, looking hopeful again. "Skipper?_ Skiippeeerr!"_ He yelled, running in that direction. He could hear something…stopping, he strained to listen, a small relieved smile crossing his face. Yes…he was sure he could hear the dog's whimpering from somewhere nearby.

But why was he whimpering…?

Fearing the worse, the man sped up, stopping in a small, enclosed space and shining the light around again. "Skipper?" He called softly, worry and fear creasing his brow. This was seriously getting old…Maybe-

A nearby whimper caught his attention, and he turned the light to a rather large bush. "Skipper?" He said uncertainly, falling to his knees and peeking underneath it. The German Shepherd whimpered as the light shone on its face, and the man sighed happily, reaching forward to pet the dog. "God, you almost gave me a heart attack!" He said, standing up and patting his leg. "Come on, maybe we can hurry home before…" he trailed off, seeing that the dog wasn't coming, and dropped onto his knees again. "Skipper? Come on, boy, let's go home." He called again.

The dog stared back with wide eyes, and the man could see that the dog was shaking now. "What's wrong…?" He asked, reaching forward to pet the dog on the head. It let out another loud whimper, moving backwards and away from his hand. "Come on, it's me, Jared. You know me." He called softly, patting the ground softly. A stiff breeze blew through the trees around him, shaking the otherwise silent forest and sending a shudder down the man's back. Something wasn't right…

He stood up and shone the light around again, scanning the bushes. Was…was someone there with him?

…

No, he was imagining things. "Come on, Skipper. Let's hurry, please." He said, his voice wavering with worry and doubt. The dog didn't budge, and with a heavy sigh the man grabbed the bush and shook it. "Come on, you stupid dog!" He yelled, his frustration boiling over. With an aggravated yell he turned and began to stomp away, muttering to himself. "If that dog wants to stay in the cold forest alone tonight, fine then. I don't have a problem with that!"

He continued on for a few moments, stopping as he heard something behind him…the faint rustling of bushes. He smiled a little, shaking his head. _I bet he finally gave in,_ he thought, turning around and starting back the way he came. "Come on, Skipper!" He called again, turning and crossing his arms. The rustling grew louder, and he could hear what sounded like footsteps…then everything went silent again. _Stupid dog, probably got lost,_ he thought, peeking around the tree. Nothing was there. _Okay…maybe I'm just hearing things,_ he reasoned after a long moment, nodding to himself.

He turned back around, ready to leave…only to see something up ahead. Squinting, he shone his flashlight towards it, but the light flickered and died out, leaving him with only the faint moonlight. From where he was, the figure looked human…"Hello?" He called reluctantly, cocking his head to the side a little. "Someone out there…?"

_**Hello, human.**_

The sudden voice made him jump, and he whipped around, expecting to see someone right behind him…only to stare into darkness. _What the fuck…?_ He thought, turning back around. The figure was closer now, and he could make out a distinct red tie standing out against the dark trees. "A-Are you lost?" He called after a few moments. After receiving no reply, he slowly walked forwards, his apprehension growing. "Do you need help…?"

He looked to his left for a heartbeat, hearing another creaking sound, and when he looked back, the figure was gone. Staring around intently, he stood like that for a long moment, shrugging and turning around with his eyes on the ground. _Okay…I'm just scared. My brain is playing tricks on me…_He reasoned, biting his bottom lip. _That's all it is, just a mind game…_

_**If only it were that simple.**_

Another strange voice, and the man whipped around…standing still, he stared blankly at the suit-clothed man before him, his heartbeat speeding up. Something wasn't right with this man…He was abnormally tall…and…a-and…

His thoughts trailed off as a hand was extended towards him, and he managed one last desperate scream before everything was shredded into darkness.

**AN:: ""EDIT"" Whoops I lied there is no poll because I made the decision myself C:  
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